Star Fox: Project Echoes
by Fallensoulfox
Summary: Set after the Kursed ending of SF Command, Fox has left lylat only to have been kidnapped by remenants of Andross's empire. After four years of captivity, Fox escapes. Now called Fallen, a new threat looms forcing him to face the deamons of his past.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Only a few short months had passed since the end of the Angular War, Star Wolf was still being celebrated as the hero's of the war, all the while team Star Fox faded into the sands of time. Krystal during this time finally broke down to the hatred of the Cornerian citizens, who believe she abandoned the Star Fox team, and left Corneria. She adopted the name Kursed and began living her life as a bounty hunter. As for the Star Fox team, the team disbanded after their leader, Fox McCloud left the planet of Corneria without a trace, only leaving a short letter for his friends,

_Sorry guys, I thought do this would be easier for us all if I didn't do it face to face. I, Fox Jamison McCloud, here by disband the Star Fox team. Your all free to do what you believe is right from here. Please, don't try to find me._

_-Fox-_

-Location: Planet Kew-

-May 12th, 11:45PM GST-

-_4 years ago-_

"Hey, give me another."

The bartender looked at his sorely drunk patron, the vulpine fur was matted in several places, dirt, mud, and some dried blood was visible on its clothing. He was dressed in a red pilot suit with a white vest and black combat boots. The fox's emerald green eyes were dull, like a light that no longer shone bright. The bartender sighed; the fox was on his tenth round already.

He placed the drink in front of the fox, taking the empty glass, "You know, drinking too much is gonna kill you."

The fox looked up at him with a weak smile, "I wish it would, maybe then, the pain would go away."

The bartender turned away, he had seen the fox's kind before. Military or mercenary, the only reason one would drink themselves into a stupor like this is because of a broken heart. But this fox was different, his entire soul seemed broken, he had lost the will to move on but is too stubborn to just keel over and die. The bartender took another look at the fox, noticing that he was now holding a photo.

"That your girl?"

The fox smiled, "She could have been, yeah." His smile fell "But I screwed up, trying to protect her, I ended up pushing her away. And right into the hands of my rivals." The fox's grip on his glass tightened, threatening to break it in his hand, remembering the last words she had said to him, '_Don't come back.'_

"Sorry to hear that, the names Joe by the way." The barkeep extended his paw to the fox, which he took, "Fox, Fox McCloud."

"Well, I'll be damned. The leader of Star Fox in my bar never would have thought it could happen." Fox scoffed at the remark, "_Former _leader of Star Fox, it's no more now. Gone, just like the ones I called my friends, just like her."

The bar door burst open with a resounding crash causing Joe to drop the glass he had been cleaning just a moment ago to the floor. Ten soldiers quickly filed into the room, forming a small semicircle around Fox. They were all dressed in the uniform for Andross's former Imperial Army, caring only blasters and batons.

"You there, you're coming with us." The leader of them, a stout bulldog pointed a finger at Fox, who still sat at the bar, eyes on his drink. Two of the soldiers grabbed him by the shoulders, obviously not concerned with any kind of resistance that the drunken fox may put up. It proved to be their downfall as Fox quickly grabbed on soldier arm, twisting it till a resounding 'crack' could be heard as the bones broke like twigs, before he grabbed the soldiers head and violently twisted it till the sound of snapping vertebrae came, dropping the lifeless body. Then he drew a black combat knife, stabbing the other soldier in the chest, piercing the poor animals right lung, before drawing it back out, facing the remaining men. The leader froze, the fox was drunk to high heaven, but he just took out two men like it was nothing. The remainder drew their batons, hoping that they could keep some distance from themselves and the deadly blade. Fox staggered a bit as he approached them, the alcohol _did_ affect him; his reaction must have been subconscious on some level because he was unable to effectively fend off all eight of the remaining soldiers as they took his stagger as a chance and charged him. Fox ducked under the first baton, smashing his fist into the unlucky animals face, but received a blow to the back of his head. The vulpine snapped, slashing with both his knife and claws, delivering bone breaking kicks to all unfortunate to get in his way. He stopped caring whether or not he killed them, in that single moment, he became an uncontrollable killing machine. The leader of the group was amazed at was he was witnessing, drunk or not, the fox was actually holding his own for a short amount of time before his men finally were able to beat down the drunk vulpine to submission, and even then it took almost _six_ men to hold him down.

The bulldog turned to one of his men, "Call Dr. Skyler immediately. Tell him we may have found a useful subject." He looked back at Fox and shuddered at the thought at what would have happened if the vulpine were sober.

-Location: Planet Kaloron-

-Same time-

Dr. Alexander Skyler looked over the recent test results from another subject that he had received earlier in the week. The avian was unimpressed, not one of the subjects so far had the power they needed for Project Echoes.

Suddenly, Dr. Skyler's communicator went off, which he answered quickly, "Yes, what is it Captain Milter?" the bulldog looked worse for the wear to the Doctor as he noticed several fresh cuts and burses on the animals face alone.

"Sir, I think we may have a new subject that could prove useful to the project." Dr. Skyler sighed at this, "You have said that many times before, captain."

The bulldog nodded at this, "Yes sir, I know. But this one may be the one we need. It took eight of my men just to suppress him, not including the two he killed." This caught the Doctors attention, _eight men? It took eight men to just to suppress him? _The bulldog continued "and that is when he was drunk, sir"

Dr. Skyler was flabbergasted, _drunk? He killed two men, and fought off eight more till they got him down and he was DRUNK? _"Show me his face Captain." The communicator shifted for a moment as the picture moved toward the crimson vulpine, where one of the men not holding him down lifted the fox's face to the communicator. His blood froze, could god be blessing him right now? He could barely believe his luck at such a find. "Captain" the image immediately shifted back to the bulldog, "Bring this one to me alive and in no worse condition that what he is in. I want to be able to begin as soon as you arrive here, understood?"

"Yes Sir." The image disappeared, leaving Dr. Skyler to his own thoughts. Oh the possibilities were endless with the gift he was about to receive, "I can't wait to meet you face to face, Fox McCloud."


	2. Chapter 1

**Author Note: I appologize to all who have been reading my story and expecting the updates. Due to my squadron, I have been extremly busy including two back to back deployments to the middle east. I will put forth all effort to put the updates as fast as possible. ~Fallensoulfox~**

Chapter 1

_Dr. Skyler looked over the bloodied vulpine with a calculating gaze, smirking to himself at the possibilities of what this particular subject may yield. The fox was strapped to a medical table in a cross like fashion, his body stripped of all clothing except his underwear to keep him decent. One year, one long and painful year he had been here, his body screaming in protest, ready to give out, save for his damnable will to keep on living. He couldn't even remember half of the shit that they had pumped into him, but he could sure as hell feel it. The vulpine had grown at least a foot and gained several pounds of solid muscle, all traces of body fat had long been erased. His head hurt constantly, like someone had taken a jackhammer to his brain and left it on, it was driving him nuts. His body also sported several new scars from the '_fun battles_' as the good doctor called them. It was more on the lines of constructive mass murder, placing several of his experimentation subjects in a confined room together, telling them that only the last one standing will be allowed to leave the room and continue to live. It sickened him to think what he had to do to survive those encounters._

"_So, what shall we begin with today, hmm?" Dr. Skylers voice broke through the vulpine musings like a knife, fear gripping his heart but he did not show it to this bastard. No, all he showed him was pure, unbridled rage, ready to rip the bastard apart in an instant. "Ah, I know." the sickening grin on the avian face made the foxes skin crawl, " I believe that you are due for a new batch of mental stimulants today."_

"_You sick son of a bitch, JUST KILL ME ALL READY DAMN YOU! I WILL NEVER DO WHAT YOU WANT , SO JUST KILL ME ALL READY!" the vulpine screamed at the top of his lungs, a years worth of torture and experimentation on his body finally causing him to snap at his captor. What was unexpected by both parties though was the walls of the room cracking, several file cabinets imploding, and numerous tools shooting away like bullets, impeding themselves deep in to the reinforced concrete walls. Dr. Skylers personal shield was the only thing that saved him from a gruesome end by impalement, his guards weren't so lucky. Several more quickly burst in to the room but the vulpine was completely drained from what ever he did. _

_The avian smirked 'Well now, things are finally getting interesting' _

-Location: Lylat system, geosynchronous orbit over Kew-

-April 15, 2:30PM GST-

-Present day-

Fallen's eyes shot open, his breath coming in labored gasps, a cold sweat covering his face. He growled under his breath, running a paw through his short hair, the same damn dream again. He hated it, every night he always had the same dream, a constant reminder to him of the torture he suffered. Slowly he stretched as much as the cramped quarters of his fighter would allow, trying to relieve some of his sore muscles. The vulpine was well built having clear muscle definition across his body; he was tall too, easily taller than most foxes. His fur was a deep crimson color, the hair on his head white, cut low in a military fashion. But his most distinguishing factor was his face which he sported two scars, one across his left eye, another crossing his muzzle just below his eye line. His eyes normally would be a deep emerald green; however they had a slight blue glow to them, a result of his powers. One would guess that his left eye would be blind from the scar but his it still worked just fine. He looked at Kew, the dusty planet reminded him a bit of Titania, but the small patches of green made it distinctly different. Fallen glanced behind him at his partner who was still asleep in the fighter's backseat. The black fox was surprisingly sprawled all over, taking up all the room possible. He sighed, and then tightened the straps that held him to his seat, angling the Raptor for atmospheric re-entry. Fallen still couldn't believe he actually stole this ship from the people who experimented on him for four years, it was quite possibly the most advanced fighter in the entire galaxy. Its design was a unique mix of that of the Arwing and Wolfen fighters resulting in a fighter with abilities that outstripped both. The Raptor had six wings, two from its sides with four g-diffuser wings like the Wolfen that formed an X shape. It also had the Arwing Mk II pointed nose but that was protected by the two blade like extensions that extended over the cockpit like the Wolfen. It was painted in a glossy black paint, giving it a mirror shin, with its edges painted silver.

The ship pitched once letting him know that they had contacted the atmosphere before the g-diffusers took over, sending his partner right into the cockpits windshield face first. The black fox covered his nose, which most likely had been smacked pretty well, before looking at Fallen, "A warning would have been nice, you know?"

"Sorry Echo didn't want to interrupt your beauty sleep." Fallen cracked a grin as Echo flipped his middle finger at him, snapping his own restraints into place, muttering some threats under his breath. They had been partners since they both escaped Kaloron together, which worked out in the end. They worked well together, even if they liked to joke around with each other to the point of annoyance.

"Well next time, wake me up. I'd rather not have a broken nose, thanks." Echo removed his hand, checking for blood. Satisfied that there was none, he went to work pulling up navigation charts and maps on his screen, "The client said they were in Kew City, right?"

Fallen nodded, "Yeah, they said to meet them at a bar in the lower district. Funny thing is, they chose Joe's place of all the bars." Echo laughed keeping his attention on the navigation, leaving Fallen to pilot. He remembered the offer clearly; all they had to do was take out a smuggler on Papatoon. Easy enough. Or so he would have like to have thought. The smuggler turned out to be a crime boss who had over a hundred men waiting for them, better yet, they were all former military turned mercenaries but it's not like it really helped. Fallen had too much of an advantage when it came to ground combat, especially close range. He forgotten how many of those poor souls he had cut to ribbons with his sword, or the others who were on the receiving end of Echo's amazing gun play, but he did remember the scumbag that was the leader. A fat cat, named Tyson Lind, the grey furred tabby obviously was not expecting all of his men to die so quickly. Fallen had driven the point of his sword through the tabbies chest, watching as he died, slowly drowning in his own blood. He had taken the job for the simple fact he had once met Tyson Lind, he had hired them once before for a job and then had the nerve to try and have them killed afterward.

Kew City was a slum compared to the more civilized planets like Corneria or Kataina, drawing bounty hunters and the like from all over. This of course meant there was plenty of opportunity for work for bounty hunters like himself, some jobs from governments, while others from more questionable backgrounds. Without a word he piloted the Raptor into an open spaceport slip, taking care to avoid landing on anyone else's ship. Opening the cockpit, Fallen jumped out, his feet kicking up a small dust cloud from impact. Echo followed a moment later holding Fallen's sword and a small box which held a body part body part he took from Lind. He took his sword, a custom blade that had the width and slight curve of a katana but the length and double edge blade of a long sword, strapping it to his left side, and then began to walk to the city. The lower district was the most dangerous place on Kew, but it was one of the best to get what you needed, legal or not.

The bar that their client was waiting for them in was one he was familiar with; he had been there several times. Of course it was also the same one he was captured in by Dr. Skyler's men, Fallen wondered if all the damages that had been caused during a fight he started last time had been repaired yet. He pushed the thought away as they approached the door, opening it without a second thought. The vulpine smiled, Joe liked to keep the place clean, despite its location. The hard wood floors where clean swept, the tables wiped down, hell he even polished the bar counter. There weren't many people here yet, only a few of the tables and bar stools were occupied.

Fallen and Echo made their way to the bar, sitting next to a blue vixen that he could have sworn he had seen before. Joe noticed him a second later, "Fallen! I guess this means the job went well?" The old bulldog set a glass of whiskey in front of him and one full of rum in front of Echo.

"Yeah, damn bastard failed to warn us about the fucking army of goons the guy had waiting." Fallen motioned to Echo, "Both his blasters got destroyed, along with one of mine." Fallen glanced over at the vixen next to him, she was Cerenian that much he could tell. It was pretty rare to see Cerenian's now days, even rarer to see one on Kew, they tended to stick more toward the tropical planets like Surria after their home world was destroyed. Her cerulean eyes seemed hallow, and her almost purple hair reached down to her shoulders. He also noticed a small faint scar on her muzzle just above her lip.

He turned his attention back to his drink, _Hey, Echo?_ Fallen was thankful he could speak to Echo telepathically without need of worry of someone eavesdropping. The two were linked mentally, probably due to Echo being his clone, allowing them to talk or show each other things without having to be near one each other.

His partner's ears flicked, _yeah?_

_Do you recognize the girl next to us? I can't help but to think I have seen her before._

Echo glanced down the bar at the vixen that just had her glass refilled, _Yeah, she looks like that bounty hunter, Kursed I think. Remember, we stole a bounty from her and she practically destroyed our non-visual comms. with her cursing at us both in Lylatian and in Cerinian._

Fallen grimaced slightly, he remembered that little encounter and the large headache that he had afterward. Unfortunately, the vixen next to him noticed, "What is your problem?"

"Nothing just could help but ask myself where I had seen you before." The vixens ears flicked and her eyes narrowed, she moved closer to him, trying to get a good look at his face. Fallen faced her fully, he could see the shock in her face, though only brief, when she noticed his eyes; it was something he got, a _lot_.

After a moment she looked away, "Sorry. Thought you were someone else for a second. You sound just like him." Fallen raised an eyebrow at this, "Boyfriend?" The vixen took a large drink from her glass, "Ex actually. Last time I saw him was during the war." Fallen nodded, the poor guy most likely got shot down somewhere, leaving her all alone. He watched as she took another drink, wiping away tears from her eyes, "We both said something's that never should have been said, and he tried to apologize over and over but I wouldn't listen to him. Now he's gone, leaving me without a chance to apologize."

Fallen shook his head, "Then you're giving up too easy." She looked back at him, "I lost the one I loved during the war too." The vixen scoffed, "I highly doubt that it was the same. Nothing could compare to what I did to him. I destroyed his life."

She noticed how Fallen's face immediately hardened, "Your right, it doesn't compare. I doubt I could match that but there is something you should remember." he glanced at her sidewise, "There is always time to ask for forgiveness, even if it takes time the time you die. If you love this guy, you keep searching for him, no matter what, anything else is just a distraction." Fallen held out a paw to her, "Names Fallen by the way, you?"

She took it, "Kursed, judging by your gear, you two are bounty hunters too." Fallen nodded, noting her choice of uniform. It was a black pilot jump suit with patches of dark blue or violet on the shoulders and waist. She also wore calf high boots, a blaster strapped to her left leg, and what looked like a holster for some sort of collapsible staff in the small of her back. The sound of the bar door opening snapped his attention to the door as a well tailored spaniel walked in flanked by two bodyguards, one a large tiger, the other a brown scaled lizard almost like Leon save for the blood red scales that striped his face. Fallen stood, along with Echo, and walked over to them, "Right on time Mr. Elzer."

The spaniel nodded, "Mr. Fallen, Mr. Echo, I am glad we can finally meet face to face. I would assume your presence here means the job is done?" Fallen nodded, motioning Echo to hand over the package to one of the bodyguards. The lizard took it, only opening it slightly before closing it quickly, the color in its face slightly drained.

"You wanted proof that he was dead." Echo teased, noticing the lizard's reaction to the contents. The spaniel leaned toward the box, opening it slightly like the lizard, and cocked an eyebrow at what he saw but said nothing. He simply waved a hand to the tiger, who stepped up, handing a large briefcase to Fallen, "There is a bonus in there for the speedy work, I hope we can hire you for another job again."

As the group turned to the door, the spaniel froze as Fallen's blaster was planted square into his back, the sound of it charging making the two guards reach for their own blasters, only to be stopped by Echo who held both of Fallen's daggers to their throats. Fallen leaned forward till he was even with the spaniel's ears, "Next time you hire us for a job, don't give us half assed Intel." He grinned, "Not that we minded killing all hundred of those guards." The vulpine shoved the older dog forward who now had a very stricken look to his face, obviously shaken by the threat, nodding in rapid succession. Fallen nodded to Echo who released the two guards, but not before stripping them of their blasters. The guards were also shaken at how easily they were nearly killed by a fox almost half their size. It only took a minute for them to recover, escorting the shaking dog out of the bar, keeping a constant eye on Fallen and Echo.

Kursed watched the scene play out with interest; she found Fallen and his partner very interesting. At first glance to her, they only seemed like green rookies, but just now, she saw real skill. Both he and his partner obviously knew what they were doing very well, and judging by the way that Fallen held his blaster and Echo the knifes, they had military training. She watched their client leave the bar in quite a hurry, stumbling over his own feet to get away from the crimson fox. Fallen spun his blaster on his finger a couple of times before holstering it during the third spin into a holster on his right thigh. Kursed looked over at Echo who was inspecting the blasters that he had stripped from the bodyguards with a frown on his face. She could sense the disappointment coming from the black fox at the weapons but he holstered them anyway into the two open holsters under his arms.

The two returned to the bar a moment later, sitting and resuming their drinks as if the whole event never happened. Kursed glanced at Fallen, "You know you just threatened the biggest weapons dealer on Kew right? He's not going to let that threat of yours go so easily." Fallen shrugged, taking a large drink from his glass, before handing it to Joe for a refill, "Yeah, so?" Kursed shook her head, was this guy _that_ dense or just plain stupid? "In other words, as soon as the word hits the street about what just happened, you're going to have one hell of a bounty on your heads." She grinned, "One I could collect on."

Fallen grinned at her statement, "One you could _try to collect on." Joe set a new glass of whiskey in front of Fallen, smiling to himself. The two were testing each other; both were experts and knew how to feel one another out, but Fallen had already won the round as he simply looked to his partner, "Hey is it time yet?" Echo looked down at the communicator on his wrist, reading the small digital clock readout, "Yeah, he should be far enough away by now." Kursed watched as Fallen reached up to a pocket in the chest of his body armor, withdrawing a small silver object. With no sense of urgency at all, he extended a small antenna from the top, flicking a small switch she didn't see at first, letting a small red light illuminate. Kursed immediately recognized the object, it was a remote detonator. Fallen depressed the button under his thumb and a moment later, there was a resounding explosion, followed by several others the bar shaking slightly from the power of the blasts. Kursed actually jumped, it sounded like he just leveled an entire city block! Joe also had a worried look on his face, his gaze shifting from Fallen to the bar door and back again. The vulpine however continued to drink, once again as if nothing had happened, while his partner talked on his communicator. _

"_What the hell was that?"_

_Fallen looked at Kursed, caught a little off guard by her outburst, "A bomb, well several bombs, what did it sound like?"_

_Kursed snarled at his smartass answer, "No duh you asshole. I meant who the hell did you just blow up?" _

"_Victor Elzer, wanted weapons dealer, smuggler, and drug runner. And about a dozen or so of his weapons depots and drug facilities." Fallen's casual answer caused Kursed's temper to flare up, "WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?" But Fallen simply shrugged, "He hired us for a job and while doing that job we got hired to collect his bounty by the CDD (Cornerian Defense Department). They were offering good money for him going six feet under." He jerked a thumb at the silver brief case, "Plus we got paid for Lind by both him and the CDD."_

_Echo nodded, "Yep comes out to a little over 3.6 mil. Not a bad haul for a job." Kursed was speechless; these guys had just pulled one hell of an act to fool Elzer into thinking that he was safe from them. They had collected three different bounties in one job, an impressive feet by all accounts. Now she understood why he said she could try, Fallen was able to manipulate the situation to his advantage easily. The vulpine pulled a wad of credits from a different pocket and tossed them to Joe, "Here, for my tab and Echo's, plus some extra to pay you back the repair costs to the bar." He nodded to Echo, who picked up the briefcase and stood, fallowing Fallen out of the bar, "See you later Joe."_

_Kursed looked back at her drink; the guy was crazy if he thinks that he can just walk away like nothing happened. She honestly hoped a bounty went out for him; it would give her the chance to kick the cocky shit out of him. Joe noticed the look in her eye, shaking his head, "Kursed, you're a regular her so I'll give you a piece of friendly advice." His eyes locked with hers, "Don't fight him." Kursed honestly thought the bulldog was nuts, "Why not? He can't be that tough." The bulldog picked up a glass and began to polish it, "I have seen many types of bounty hunters, and most of them are like you. Broken souls hoping to bury a past or run away from pain. But Fallen is different. He is not running, he isn't trying bury his past. He has nothing to lose, unpredictable, cunning, and worst of all, very, very patient." Joe stopped polishing the glass holding it up to one of the ceiling lights, "He, Kursed, it what I would call a soulless husk, searching for his past, fighting for his future. And he will kill anyone that gets in his way." The bulldog set the glass on the counter and turned away, leaving Kursed to her thoughts_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

-April 15, 18:45pm GST-

-Light Combat Class Cruiser, _Heartbreak_-

Kursed stood in her shower letting the steaming water wash over her sore body, thinking about the encounter with Fallen that she had earlier that day. She had tried to read his mind at the bar but found it impossibly well guarded the same for his partners. If he had noticed the mental probe, he certainly didn't show it. And then there was how he acted, it reminded her so much of Fox that it honestly scared her. Kursed shook her head, trying to clear the thought from her mind, as she finished her shower. Grabbing a towel, she dried herself off, using a brush to get out the knots and mats in her fur. She hadn't used a blow drier on her fur since she broke up with Fox, so now it wasn't as soft as it used to be. Tossing the towel aside, Kursed walked naked to her dresser, pulling out a black bra and matching panties. She wore nothing but dark colors now, leaving little to nothing that could identify her as Krystal. Dressing in blue jeans and a dark blue tank top, Kursed made her way to the bridge of her ship, where her partner Rosie was busy watching the news on one of the screens, shifting through a list of bounties on another. To the vixen's surprise, there was no news on the bomb that Fallen had set off on Kew, which meant that someone was covering the whole thing up.

Kursed sat down in the captain's chair, going through the list of bounty's that Rosie had pulled up. She had met Rosie about two years ago during a job in the Sol system, serving drinks at a bar on Earth. The once human home world had deteriorated over the years, but was still a large market for starships and parts as the humans had, at one point, developed some of the galaxy's most advanced starships. Kursed actually bought the _Heartbreak_ on earth with the bounty money that she had collected there. It wasn't an incredibly advanced ship, hell the thing could barely compare to the _Great Fox_, but it got the job done. Rosie had turned out to be a bounty hunter as well and the two originally formed a temporary pact to claim the bounty. But after the job, Rosie asked to come along, and Kursed could hardly turn down her ability to gather information. The list had obviously been sorted through once before to cut out any bounties hardly worth their time, but even then, there was barely any worth over a hundred thousand. Kursed sighed, "I am guessing all the good bounties have been taken already." It was more a statement then a question.

The snow white rabbit glanced over her shoulder, "You got it. Someone pegged Elzer and Lynd, and they were the only ones worth going for. Jase called and said he would try and line up a job for us that paid well." Kursed nodded, if there was at least one person that she trusted other than Rosie, it was Jase. Jase Phoenix, an information dealer and contractor, one of the best in the business. Cocky and brash, he was also humble with his abilities and kept a low profile when dealing with his clients. If he couldn't get his hands on the info that you wanted, it was pretty much guaranteed that no one else could. Kursed looked at her partner and somewhat friend, "Hey Rosie, ever hear of a bounty hunter named Fallen?"

Rosie shrugged a little as she continued to go through her list of bounties, "Just rumors mostly, why?"

Kursed looked out the bridges viewport, "Because I met the guy today. Him and his partner Echo, they were the ones who took out Elzer and Lynd."

The lapin's eyes easily grew twice in size in shock, "Only the two of them? Lynd alone had over a hundred guards and the reports said that they were cut to ribbons!" Kursed could understand her surprise, hell if she had not seen what Fallen and Echo were capable of first hand, and she wouldn't have believed it herself. But then again, there was something different about those two. Kursed snapped out of her trance, _Damn it! Why the hell are you thinking about them so much! _She mentally cursed herself out for being distracted by that, noticing that they had an awaiting transmission and opened the link with a few quick keystrokes.

"About damn time Kursed! I was beginning to wonder if you were ignoring me on purpose." The image was that of an avian, similar to Falco save for the fact all of his feathers were deep red in color, his eyes a catching gold color, giving the impression that his feathers were on fire like a living Phoenix. She could tell that he was pissed about something, highly doubting that he being on hold for the short amount of time that he was could warrant his attitude.

"Sorry Jase, I was a bit lost in thought. So I take it you found a job for us to do?" Kursed crossed her legs and propped her head up on a paw, "because if this just a social call, you are wasting my time." Jase glared at her for a brief moment before letting out a sigh, "Yeah I have a job for you. It just popped up too, straight from the C.I.D. (Cornerian Intelligence Department). Apparently there was a mysterious explosion on a planet called Kaloron in the Terra Lima system. They want someone to check it out, interested?"

"Don't they normally hire mercenaries to do that kind of job?" Rosie stretched her arms behind her back resulting in a loud series of pops, "We're bounty hunters, not merc's."

Jase nodded, "I know, but they were pretty adamant to call for a bounty hunter to do the job. Look, I know that it isn't your thing but it's gonna pay you well, they said seven digits minimum." This perked her interest, that was a lot of money for a simple recon mission, "What's the catch?" Jase smiled, "Apparently there is someone that they are looking for that may have been there. Also, the explosion seemed to have happened some six months ago."

"What the hell took them so long to post a bill for it?" Jase shrugged at her question, "Don't know, but apparently the last idiot they sent in didn't make it back. Be careful Kursed, the area is a hot spot for pirates and raiders."

"Fine I'll take it Jase." Kursed paused for a moment, "Can you do me a favor?"

This unsettled the avian; Kursed wasn't known to ask favors from anybody, "Sure, what do you need?" Kursed stood and walked over to the bridges viewing window, "Can you find out anything you can about a bounty hunter named Fallen? Who he is, his choice of ship, where he comes from, anything that could be of use?" Jase hesitated, "Uh, Kursed, you do realize what you're asking right? The guy is an enigma, no one knows anything about him, save for a few small trivial details." Kursed sighed and closed her eyes, she was expecting such an answer but to hear it from Jase was the last thing that she needed. "Look, I will forward anything I can find to you but I make no promises about how good it is, deal?"

Kursed nodded, still keeping her eyes closed, "Deal, how much do you want for the data?"

Jase laughed, "None thanks, this is the first challenge that I have gotten in a while, and I want to do it for enjoyment more than anything." He flashed a two finger salute, "Call you later when I have something." Then was gone. Kursed turned to Rosie, "Set a course for Terra Lima system, hopefully we'll get authorization from C.H.A (Cornerian Hyperspace Agency) soon." Rosie nodded then set to work at her console while Kursed sat back down in her chair, _this is the easiest job I have ever gotten._

-April 15, 22:30 pm-

-Heavy Combat Cruiser Class, _Legacy_-

Fallen waited patiently against the hull of the _Legacy _waiting for Echo return to the ship so they can start their next job. He, himself, had returned nearly an hour ago with the much needed supplies that he had purchased planet side and had already put it all away. Fallen sighed, he guessed it was expected to take awhile considering that it was Echo's first ship; god knows what kind of upgrades the vulpine had bought to get the thing the way that he liked it. He looked around the mostly empty hanger bay, his Raptor and his old Arwing Mk. II was sitting in their respective cradles, and save for some supply crates and tool boxes that was pretty much it. The _Legacy_ its self was an advanced prototype Cornerian warship that he had salvaged shortly after escaping Kaloron.

Turning, the vulpine left the hanger and walked toward the bridge of the ship, reminiscing on old memories. All the battles he survived, all the worlds he's seen, all of the friends he's had, it played through his mind like a recording. He had thought at one point when he and Echo had escaped that their troubles were over. Well, most of them at least. He arrived on the bridge, taking in the view of the room. The two pilot's seats, side by side, up at the front. The navigation station was to the left, weapons fire control to the right. The room then sloped upward to the entrance where the captain's chair sat overlooking the rest behind a private control console. He enjoyed having an actual control console now instead of the one that he usually found that had folded out of the captain's seat.

"KALE, any new messages for me?" Fallen slumped down into his chair, reclining into a comfortable position.

"Yes captain, there are four new messages for you." The ships AI responded almost immediately after he asked his question. As far as he knew, his ship was the only one with a programmed male AI interface, not like the usual female voice that most new ships were coming out with. It reminded him of ROB, that old droid was a good companion that he had salvaged from the _Great Fox_ (much to the protest of the thousands of Fox McCloud fans and his few friends) trustful if not a little monotone. "Two of the messages are from Mr. Cain Semter about a job, one from the C.D.D. about the last job that you completed, and the last is from Echo saying that he would be back in approximately one hour."

Fallen sighed, "How old is Echo's message?"

"Less than ten minutes old sir." Which meant that it came in when he was making his way to the bridge, _Great I have to wait even longer for him now_. Fallen stood, walking to the door, "Forward the messages to the galley, I'll take them there." There was a simple beep in response to his order as it was done. He liked that most about KALE, it understood the mood that he was in was not a good one and decided not to bother him with unnecessary details. Fallen made his way to the galley, he was hungry; _maybe a steak would be good?_ Opening the fridge, he was disappointed to find that the steak was gone, _damn it Echo._ Instead he grabbed the left over pasta that he had from Papatoon along with a beer, closing the door with his foot. He sat down at one of the tables with his food, "KALE, display messages." A moment later a holographic screen appeared with a Venamonian staring him strait in the face, "Hello Mr. Fallen, I was told by some business associates of mine that you were one of the best bounty hunter out there so I wish to offer you a job. It will pay you well and possibly get you some credit with my employer. I will send you a second message with the communications frequency. Mind you, this one will not work after you have seen this, so if you are interested, please open the second message. Good day."

Fallen took a swig from his beer and looked down at the Venamonian's face, noticing that the ape was an older one. Well dressed, and from the way that he spoke, obviously raised in high class or worked a job that required speeches quite a bit. He looked down at the beer, they weren't exactly hurting for cash but some extra credits wouldn't hurt for just in case. _Screw it_, Fallen tapped the holoscreen to open the second message, which only contained a single comm. frequency: 067-42-9480-40A. Fallen felt his blood freeze, 40A, that was the communication frequency classification number for the Venamonian state office, Dash's office. _Could he have….no, not possible. There shouldn't be anything that connects me to being Fox McCloud anymore, isn't there? ROB is gone and it has been four years since he disappeared, no one should be able find anything._ He down the remaining beer and some of his food, his mind reeling over the message. _Shit, shit, shit, shit! Okay calm down, there is a good chance that he doesn't know about my involvement, I just have to stay calm._ Fallen double tapped on the number which instantly created a link, a young female raccoon receptionist staring him right in the face "Hello, Venom state office, my name is Michel, how can I help you?"

_She's perky for a receptionist_, Fallen thought to himself, "Yeah, my name is Fallen. I received a message for a job. Who do I need to speak to?"

The receptionist looked at him blankly for a second, "Aren't you Fox McCloud?" Fallen narrowed his eyes, "Listen, I get that a lot but I am _not _him, got it?"

"Uh, yes sir. Please wait a moment till I transfer you to Representative Bowman." The screen changed to an image of the new Venom flag, green with two knight figures crossing swords and images of Corneria and Venom behind each. _Representative Bowman, when did Venom adopt a democratic government? _His thoughts were cut short as Dash picked up the call smiling warmly, "I was beginning to wonder when you were gonna call Fallen."

_Well shit, so much for not recognizing me,_ Fallen shrugged, "It has been a while hasn't it?" Fallen had to admire how well Dash grew up from the cocky young pilot he heard about on the Star Falco team, he had Oniky's height but was more filled out and muscular. He also had a softer face then that of his two predecessors.

"Yes it has, I was hoping that you would come and visit me more after that whole separatist fiasco." Fallen nodded at this, he remembered _that _particular job pretty well. A group of Andross loyalists attempted to stage a coup de grace of the government that Dash had created. Fallen happened to be near by and answered his call for help. He particularly liked the reward sum of money he and Echo got after ward. Fallen sighed, "I try to stay under the radar Dash."

Dash gave a childish grin "Then stop leaving so many damn clues you nitwit. You and your partner are not very subtitle when it comes to your jobs sometimes." He patted a stack of papers next to him, "When you have fought next to someone, you tend to pick up on their habits." Fallen frowned, was he really that obvious? Dash clasped his hands together in front of him, "Don't worry, I will respect you wishes and not tell anyone about this conversation or you. But I think we should get to the business at hand, don't you?"

Fallen nodded, "Yes I quite agree." Dash's face zoomed out as a picture appeared revealing a large dreadnought class battle ship, "This is the Admindmon, a joint project between Venom and Corneria in an attempt to create a unilateral fleet. Three months ago, rouge Venamonian officer named Twig Sheris stole the main blueprints to the Admindmon and is believed to be planning to sell these blueprints on the black market." Two more photos's appeared, one showing a young tigress the other a large puma with a scar crossing between his eyes across his face, "This in Twig and his second in command Amanda Pheris. Miss Pheris is Twig's adoptive sister and is a brilliant mechanic to boot, trained by Slippy if I remember correctly."

Fallen whistled, Slippy Toad was the galaxies lead designer in starships and fighters as well as other various military technologies. "Why doesn't she have the same last name as Twig?"

"Apparently she chose to legally change her name after turning eighteen. Your job is to get these blueprints back or destroy them if that is not possible and to eliminate Twig."

"And his sister?" Fallen had to ask the question, he would kill her if required but would much prefer if it could be avoided. Dash paused for a second, "She is not a priority target, so as long as she doesn't try to interfere with your mission you can leave her alone. Honestly I doubt even me or Peppy would be able to protect her if you brought her back here." _Shit, if neither Cornerian Command General Hare or Dash couldn't protect this girl, this is bad. His face zoomed back in, "So will you do it?"_

_Fallen nodded, "Yeah, why not? Sounds like this could be interesting." He stretched his back out, "Got any leads on where they are hiding right now?" Dash held up a note pad, quickly scanning over it, "By the looks of it, somewhere in the Stryton system." The young ape looked at Fallen with a face filled with concern, "This is an extremely dangerous system, even for bounty hunters like your self. Are you sure you want to do this?"_

_Fallen turned his face away, "Why would you ask if I was going to turn it down?"_

"_Only because your so damn unpredictable, and hey, have you heard anything about a scientist that used to work for my uncle name Alexander Skyler?" Dash jumped as the beer bottle in Fallen's hand shattered, his face masked in pure rage, the blue hue of his eyes deepening to a dark sapphire like color, "Oh yeah, I know the asshole, what do you want to know?"_


End file.
